Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988).
members: Dave Prater
formed in: Miami
labels: Atlantic Records, Roulette
genres: soul
awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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Sam Moore and Dave Prater's early musical backgrounds involved listening to and singing gospel music in their homes and churches, and in Dave's case, also singing gospel in the choir in his church. Dave later sang with his older brother JT Prater in the gospel group The Sensational Hummingbirds, who recorded "Lord Teach Me" in the 1950s. Sam recorded "Nitey-Nite"/"Caveman Rock" in 1954 with the doo-wop group The Majestics, and later sang with the gospel groups The Gales and The Mellonaires. Moore and Prater listed Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke as influences on their styles, and Moore was also influenced by Little Willie John, whom he and Dave opened for often in the early 1960s.
When Sam & Dave arrived at Stax, they worked with producer & engineer Jim Stewart and songwriters including the MGs' guitarist Steve Cropper, who wrote or co-wrote four of their first eight recordings. The duo then moved to relative newcomer writers and producers Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Hayes and Porter wrote and produced the duo's biggest hits (although they did not receive production credits until the Soul Men LP and singles). According to Moore and Prater, they also greatly influenced the duo's singing style, and shifted their recording style from the style of their Roulette records to a more live, more energetic gospel, call-and-response feel and beat driven soul style the group is known for today.
Moore continued to perform and record as a solo artist, and also performed in numerous duets with other popular artists, until his death on January 10, 2025.
Are you them, or do you know them? The mail slot is open.
"Hold On, I'm Comin'" is a song first recorded in 1966 by soul duo Sam & Dave, issued in the same year on the Atlantic-distributed Stax label.
It was written by the songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, who came up with the title of the song spontaneously when Hayes was trying to get Porter to hurry out of the Stax Studios restroom and get back to songwriting. The original title was "Hold On, I'm Comin'", but some radio stations objected to its "suggestive nature", and labels on most copies of the single gave the title as "Hold On! I'm A Comin'". Released as Stax 189 in the spring of 1966, the single peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B singles chart and at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
In his Disco File column for the week of 25 August, Brian Chin referred to the single as a loping synthesizer-based version of the Sam & Dave song. He also wrote that it would be inevitable that parallels would be made with the spring release of "Knock on Wood" but the slower pace of "Hold On I'm Comin'" provided a more natural backbeat and would likely be an easier record for the DJs to handle. He also said to watch out for her excellent album that was coming out in September. It was also reviewed in the 12-inch Discs section of the same issue. The reviewer wrote that the record may remind some of Amii Stewart's version of "Knock on Wood" which were of a similar vintage and character.
Eric Burdon performed the song live on the show Ready, Steady, Go! in 1966. This performance has gained huge popularity over the years, mostly on YouTube. Burdon has since performed it again in his more recent shows.